


Perfect

by Beckendorf



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: But a sweet ending, Contains major spoiler, Hurt/Comfort, I got way too many feels writing this, Iron Man 3, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-05-27
Packaged: 2017-12-13 03:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beckendorf/pseuds/Beckendorf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“See that’s where you’re wrong, he was already perfect. Not just before, not just after, always.” </p>
<p>Contains MAJOR SPOILERS FOR/FROM IRON MAN 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect

Notes: I adapted the story slightly to fit my idea. This was a little experimental. I hope it makes sense! 

“You ever get that feeling? I’ve heard it’s quite common, y’know, like your whole world crashing around you? Like your heart’s been ripped out. I’ve witnessed that first hand of course. But not like this.It was like all your worst nightmares coming true, all your demons in one place, coming to get you…” 

He should’ve expected that they’d take Steve. When you’re trying to get someone to do something for you, the easiest way to blackmail them is to take someone they love. But no, they went a step further. They took one of the only things he truly loved and they _mutilated_ it.   
Tony cursed his restraints, the awkward position at which he was held preventing him from any movement. It was unbearable to watch. It was common knowledge that altering the human DNA was painful, and Steve had gone through it before, but this was near agonising. Instead of the large and muscular man he’d grown to love, the hologram showed a sallow, pale and thin boy strapped to a metal frame. He turned away again, the ridges of the metal cuff pressing into his skin. A nearby guard laughed and grabbed his chin in a strong grip, forcing him to watch the feed.   
“I must admit, you’ve picked a strong one, but it looks like I’ve just out done StarkTech again.” Killian said as he oh so casually leaned against the desk, clearly enjoying Tony’s pain. “You can save him you know, I’m giving you the option to join me, we will be like gods amongst men.” Totally overused line, he thought, almost rolling his eyes if it wasn’t for the eerie red now making its way across Steve’s body. He could feel a snarky response coming through, but another scream cut him off. He winced despite himself, and his hostile company shared a laugh at his discomfort.   
“Well duty calls, I hope you’ll consider my…proposition.” Killian winked and practically danced out of the room, leaving Tony to watch Steve give one last agonising screech before the stone things-he refused to grace them with a name, returned to their owner.   
He continued to watch Killian’s retreating back and observed the two guards who would be made to watch him. It was time to act.

_____________________________________________

“You know Captain, you and I are very alike.”   
Steve grit his teeth and remained silent. He could feel the heat going through his body, changing his cells, god only knows how frayed they must be now. He was still trying to work out how they changed him back. It had been heart breaking. And now they were injecting him with some sort of new serum? He wasn’t sure how much more his body would be able to take.   
“We both started out as little guys, no one took a second look at us. But we bettered ourselves, we became stronger. We proved them wrong.” Killian seemed to get angrier with each word, eventually melting the glass in his hand. Steve maintained his poker face, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.   
“But I have to say it’s an honour to finally meet you, I’m a massive fan, as I was of Stark until he turned out to be a complete Prick-how do you put up with him? Anyway, with you in our force, we will be unstoppable.”  
“What makes you so sure I’m going to be willing to help you?” He croaked out. He had nothing but his pride to go on now.   
The other man laughed, “Oh you will, see you’re the prize here Steve, Tony will only help me as long as your lifeline is coiled around my finger. Consider your options carefully captain.”   
“You say that as if it’s a done deal…” Steve said, narrowing his eyes.   
“Oh yes I’m pretty sure it is.” He said with confident and cocky smirk in place.   
____________________________________

“Steve, baby, honey, I can’t reach any further and you can’t stay there, just let go!” He wasn’t sure if the knot in his stomach was due to adrenaline or nerves. Steve wasn’t meant to bend that way and-why was the crane moving? That wasn’t supposed to happen. He stretched, their hands were so close…so unbearably close….   
Steve slowly let go with his other hand, a finger at a time, letting go of his hold. In a last minute attempt at freedom he moved towards Tony, his eyes closed. He could already feel the warmth of his hand-  
Which wasn’t Tony’s warmth at all. He opened his eyes and realised he was falling, a scream hitting his ears he never realised he’d made.   
Toy was shell shocked. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He couldn’t have miscalculated, couldn’t have. He looked to the flames, searching for anything, a sign that could possibly show him that Steve had survived. He was Captain America, of course he could survive! 

Except he wasn’t. 

“Shame really.” Came a voice he’d hoped never to hear again, “I almost had him just Perfect.”   
Tony turned and faced him, strong again with new determination.   
“See that’s where you’re wrong. He was already perfect. Not just before, not just after, always.” He said, tensing with anger. Then he made as if he was running at Killian, inducing a similar reaction. The two men ran at each other and Killian was ready to charge when Tony slid underneath him, arms at the ready, summoning the Mark 42. It encased around Killian flattening him against the wall, thankfully stopping all reaction time. He gave the self-destruct command and dived out of the way just in time to watch the platform blow. 

He smiled at his handiwork, but then turned to see the various remains of his suits. With a sigh he began to look through them, he was now completely defenceless and without any form of ammunition or gun power. A part of him wanted to find Steve’s body, just so he could have a proper funeral. Another didn’t want to see the charred corpse he was sure it would have become.   
He sat in a relatively unaffected area, observing the fires from afar. He refused to let any weakness show despite the grief he did feel. Of course that’s when Satan himself decided to emerge from the ruins, skin glowing and cracking.  
He felt it necessary to inform Tony that he was the mandarin, but by this point he had gone beyond caring. All he desired now was to finish this guy and he had enough anger to. Except for the part where he had 0 powers.   
Killian was fast approaching, melting the surrounding metal in an attempt to look slightly more menacing than he already did, when he was knocked out by a large metal pole. Tony looked to the wielder of said pole and saw…

“Steve?” The man turned to him, still thin and pale, but his blue eyes were now red, and there were cracks on his skin volcanic rock stretching over lava. He walked over to him, arm hot and ready when Tony realised that the Extremis had likely already controlled his mind. But instead of advancing any further Steve turned his head to where the weakened body of Killian lay and used-was that his repulsor? To blast his body, ensuring his death.   
“Steve?” He said again, a little more cautiously this time, and Steve jerked as if he’d just woken up, looking at his metal covered arm, the destruction around him, and then finally at Tony.   
“Well, who’s the hot mess now?” He said with a weak smile. He staggered towards where Tony was sitting, and he got up himself in hopes of one of those romantic “meet me halfway” hugs.   
“Wait Tony no..I’ll-I’ll burn you won’t I?” He said, now having to look up at his usually shorter husband. Regardless, Tony still placed his arms around Steve’s tiny waist, “It’s okay Steve….it’s okay…I-I love you.” He said against his neck, and smiled as he felt rather than heard Steve’s response.   
___________________________________________________________________

“In the end we managed to cure Steve, took a lot of time and a lot of energy but we managed, but then I thought, why not go a step further and cure myself too?” 

Tony steeled himself throughout the whole operation, smiling as he saw Steve-back to normal, Rhodey and Pepper outside the hospital room. He gave them a thumbs up and closed his eyes, ready for the operation. 

He asked to keep the shrapnel afterwards, and had the parts made into a ring. It resembled a nest, but you could also see it as scaffolding, keeping the blue sapphire at the top in place just like the way Steve kept Tony. He knew it was a little bit of a late proposal and a little soon considering what they’d been through, but life’s too short and Tony knew that better than anyone else. So as he stood at the remains of the Malibu house, and threw the arc reactor into the sea, he realised that now he was going to die a happy man because despite the little ups and downs, his life was now perfect. 

The question of whether he would still be Iron Man still hung in the air, but he said so himself. 

“I am Iron Man.” And nothing was ever going to change that.


End file.
